RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/W/ 529 
 
4 September  2020 
(20-6015) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration    
 
 
REQUEST TO THE CBFA TO LIFT THE LIMITATION OF EXPENDITURE  
AGAINST APPELLATE BODY MEMBER FEES  
1. The General Council approved the 2020 Budget, totalling CHF 197.2 million, in December 2019. This 
was based on the recommendation of the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration as contained 
in paragraph 1.100  of the Report of the CBFA to the General Council, bearing the reference WT/BFA /183.  
2. During the budget deliberations, the CBFA had agreed to establish a temporary limitation of expenditure 
against the budget allocated to Appellate Body Member Retainer Fees and the allowance for administrative 
expenses  and the Appellate Body Operating Fund by amounts of CHF 100,000, respectively, and that the 
Committee ca n lift this limitation when it deems this appropriate.1 
3. The amount payable for Appellate Body Member Retainer Fees and administrative expenses for 2020 is 
as follows:  
Identifier  Monthly 
Payment  Number of 
Months  Total Amount  
Member A  (1 January to 31 March  2020)  9,415  3 28,245  
Member B  (1 January to 31 March  2020)  9,415  3 28,245  
Member C  (1 January to 31 March  2020)  9,415  3 28,245  
Member D  (1 January to 30 November 2020)  9,415  11 103,565  
Total    188,300  
Paragraph 1.79 of WT/BFA/183    (100,000)  
Additional Amount Required    88,300  
 
4. The Member s of the division hearing the appeal in Australia – Plain Packaging (Complaints by the 
Dominican Republic and Honduras)  continued to work on the appeal in the first months o f 2020.2 They 
completed the drafting of the Appellate Body Report on 31 March 2020  when they signed the report.3  
5. The total retainer fees due to Members  A, B and C for the three months up to 31 March 2020  is 
CHF 84,735 . 
6. The contract for Member D  ends on 30 November 2020. The total retainer fee payable for this period is 
CHF 103,565.   
7. The total amount for retainers in points 4 and 5 above is CHF 188,300. Given  the temporary limitation 
of CHF 100,000, as explained in point 2 above, a lifting of the limitation is required for an additional 
CHF 88,300 so that the expenditure amount can be extended to CHF 188,300.   
8. The Secretariat requests the CBFA to lift the temporary limitation  to expenditure against the budget line 
for Appellate Body Member fees  to extend the amount from CHF 100,000 to CHF 188,300  to meet the 
obligations to pay the monthly retainer fees  due for 2020 in full . 
 
1 Refer to paragraph 1.79 of the document with the reference WT/BFA/W/183.  
2 While the term of office of one Member had expired on 30 September 2018, and the terms of office of the remaining 
Members of the Division had expired on 11 December 2019, they had been authorized to complete the appeal 
pursuant to Rule 15 of the Working Pr ocedures for Appellate Review . 
3 See para. 7.15 of Appellate Body Report s, Australia – Plain Packaging (Complaints by the Dominican Republic and 
Honduras)  (WT/DS435/ABR and WT/DS441/ABR).  WT/BFA/W/ 529 
 
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  9. This adjustment will enable the WTO to address all outstanding contractual obligations with respect to 
the Appellate Body at this time.  
 
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